Love in Action
“Love ought to manifest itself in deeds rather than in words”
—St. Ignatius of Loyola, The Spiritual Exercises
Love in Action
These famous words from The Spiritual Exercises ring true at this time. People need to see the Church in action. This is the time for us to show what love looks like. I have been so humbled by the way the Church has stepped up and served in this season. This newsletter focuses on the three main areas of work I have been connected to during the COVID-19 crisis: Easter Outreach, Emmanuel Homeless Ministry, and a new Recovery Ministry.
Easter Outreach
We have been blown away by the way God has used this ministry and the regional Church during COVID-19. Here are some crazy stats of what Easter Outreach has achieved during the crisis:
4,000 volunteer opportunities filled
Almost 5,000 meals delivered to seniors in partnership with Philadelphia Corporation for the Aging
Over 1,000 Senior food boxes delivered for Philabundance
About 600,000 meals distributed, totaling more than 800,000 pounds of food!
Our plan is to continue this work in an ongoing way year-round. The Easter Outreach team is working on changing its name and refocusing what we do. We are exploring a strategy of how to support local churches in their efforts to feed their communities with a particular focus on feeding seniors.
Emmanuel
Those experiencing homelessness have been greatly affected by COVID-19, inspiring this ministry to step up to meet the growing need. Despite all of the disruption in the city, we have not missed serving our Saturday lunch to an average of 120 guests each week. To keep our volunteers and guests safe, we shifted to take-out meals and streamlined the volunteer service experience. We also applied for and secured a COVID-19 grant from the Philadelphia Foundation. With this influx of funds, we have been able to expand our meal program to include a Friday dinner service- now serving two meals a week and doubling our output. We also developed a pilot program with Bethesda Services to help our more vulnerable guests find housing and help, focusing on the elderly and medically fragile.
Recovery Groups
Many of you know my story and history of addiction, which is why I am involved in leading a monthly recovery group out of Epiphany Church in Gloucester City, N.J. As a result of the pandemic precautions, we shifted to a virtual, online meeting. But to help meet the need of people addicted during the COVID-19 crisis, we decided to expand to two meetings each month. This ministry has been very personal to me and feeds my passion to help people get out of addiction.
Personal Note
I am doing well. I finally feel like there is a calm in the storm. We are still distributing a lot of food each week, but it feels sustainable. I have been blessed with great people around me in all the ministries I lead. The Easter Outreach Team has been such a blessing. They are committed, smart, compassionate, and faithful. The Emmanuel team has totally taken off and runs everything very smoothly. They are a great group who embody the values of the ministry as they care for some of Philly’s most vulnerable.
I have been very busy over the last couple of months responding to the needs in our city and region. In order for me to continue and expand this work, I will need to develop a base of supporters to help fund the work I do. If you have not yet committed, please consider making a one-time gift or contributing regularly to my monthly support. You can give here.
Prayer Requests
Pray for clarity and direction as we seek to distribute food year-round and focus our efforts on projects that have the most impact.
Pray for my family as they seek to support me in my work and as I seek to be a good husband and father.
Pray for my monthly support. We are looking to grow our monthly base by about 20 supporters over the next couple of months.
